Putting the 'buzz' in your research bids
Workshop Audience:
Researchers and academics who are planning to apply for funding in the short-medium term
Outline:
To be competitive in bidding for research funding, you of course need a great research idea that tackles important issues/questions in your field and a clear plan of how you will conduct the research. However, the great idea and the robust plan are not enough to win funding, your bid also needs to generate a ‘buzz’ in those who read it. This means developing a proposal that will convince your reviewers and funders that your idea is novel, exciting, important, and relevant. They should be left in no doubt about why yours is the right project to fund, why now is the right time and why you are the right person/team to lead the research.
In this workshop, we will examine the key elements involved in turning your initial research idea into a proposal that will get the attention and support of the reviewers, demonstrate the importance of the research and assure funders that your project will make a valuable contribution to your field.
Learning Outcomes:
In this 2-hour practical and interactive workshop you will:
Explore research funding processes and expectations
Consider how to effectively communicate your research plans to your audiences of peer reviewers, grant panel members and funders
Develop a convincing narrative to explain the novelty and importance of your research idea
Receive feedback and learn from the experiences of other researchers in a constructive and supportive environment.
Facilitator:
Dr Natalie James is a coach, trainer and consultant specialising in professional development for researchers and academics (www.researchcoach.co.uk). Natalie supports a large cohort of researchers from PhD to Professor in all aspects of their roles, and regularly helps her clients to develop their research ideas as they prepare funding applications. Prior to moving into researcher development and later starting her own business, Natalie worked for the UK Research Councils managing all aspects of peer review and funding policy for £multimillion grant portfolios in the physical sciences.